Eradication of potato spindle tuber viroid from Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, Canada
The following statement is made by Plant Health Directorate, Agriculture Canada:
"Scientific surveys conducted in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, Canada (1984: -1987), have confirmed the absence of potato spindle tuber viroid in seed and ware potato fields. Leaf samples taken during the survey were tested by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), nucleic acid Hybridization (dot-blot) and return-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (R-PAGE). These laboratory results corroborate field inspection and post-harvest testing data collected by Canada's Plant Protection Division over the past seven years, during which no PSTV was detected.
The eradication of this infectious pathogen was accomplished through rigorous screening and testing of all parental breeding stock and the testing of all new cultivars introduced in the certification program since 1977. Furthermore, legal and administrative measures such as mandatory planting of Certified Seed Potatoes and a "zero tolerance" standard for field inspection, contributed significantly to the elimination of the pathogen.
In the absence on an efficient aerial vector and through maintenance of a strict monitoring program, re-introduction of the pathogen is not likely to occur".
References:
Singh, R. P. & Crowley, C. F. (1985). Successful management of potato spindle tuber viroid in seed potato crop. Canadian Plant Disease Survey, 65, 9-10.
Singh, R.P., Dettan, F. L. & Laswal, A. S. (1988). A survey of the incidence of potato spindle tuber viroid in Prince Edward Island using two testing methods, Canadian Journal of Plant Science 68 (in press).
Sources
Plant Health Directorate, Agriculture Canada.